Growth Hormone and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Somatotrophic Axis

The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychopharmacology, 4th Edition

Growth Hormone and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Somatotrophic Axis

Sections: Growth Hormone Studies in Psychiatric Disorders.

Topics Discussed: somatotropin.

Excerpt: "Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin is another stress-sensitive neuroendocrine system. GH is synthesized by the anterior pituitary, and although it can be used as an endpoint in itself for neuroendocrine research in psychiatry, its predominant use is as a marker of the integrity of the noradrenergic system following challenge. The hypothalamic-pituitary-somatotrophic (HPS) axis is under complex regulatory control that is not yet fully understood since cross-species variations in GH regulation make it difficult to extrapolate to humans from animal studies. It is well established, however, that the final common pathways for control of GH release from the pituitary are hypothalamic growth hormone–releasing hormone (GHRH) (stimulation) and somatostatin (inhibition). The wide variety of metabolic, endocrine, and neural influences that alter GH secretion do so primarily through effects on GHRH and/or somatostatin. Neural influences may be mediated by noradrenergic, cholinergic, dopaminergic, aminobutyric acid (GABA)–ergic, and serotonergic..."

DOI: 10.1176/appi.books.9781585623860.417048

From http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=417120&searchStr=estrogen